Amidst countless nutritional studies and regular tabloid scare mongering, it’s easy to get confused about what constitutes a healthy diet. The experts separate food facts from food fiction

Should grains be a dietary staple?

Grains (the seeds of grasses) have become a staple food source around the world and, according to the NHS eatwell plate, should comprise one-third of our diet. These whole grain starchy foods, which include rice, pasta and bread, provide concentrated energy, as well as containing fibre, calcium, iron and B vitamins. However, the rise in popularity of the so-called ‘Paleo diet’ (eating like our ancestors) has led many to question whether these often highly processed foods have much nutritional value or even if they may trigger weight gain and insulin resistance.

“You have to remember that organisations like the NHS put guidelines together by looking at the majority of the population, so they’re not for everyone,” says Jodie Relf, registered dietitian for XLS-Medical. She advises customers to: “Play around by starting with the guidelines and adjusting them by reducing the starch or increasing the protein until finding what suits.”

Helena Gibson-Moore, nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, says people shouldn’t worry that starchy foods will cause weight gain. “Gram for gram, they contain fewer than half the calories of fat,” she explains. “It is generally the added fats used when cooking and serving starchy foods that bumps up the calorie content.”

Is breakfast the most important meal of the day or can it be skipped?

“A lot of people skip breakfast because they’re not hungry or they’re on the run, but it’s not ideal,” says Jodie. “It’s a missed opportunity to provide your body with what it really needs nutritionally and also means by lunch you’ll be going for the larger portions and making bad meal choices.”

Healthy breakfast options include oatmeal topped with fruit, sugar-free muesli with yoghurt, reduced sugar baked beans on wholemeal toast and vegetable omelettes. If people can’t stomach a large breakfast, Jodie recommends at least having a piece of fruit to “get the body going”.

Is fresh fruit and veg healthier than canned frozen variants?

It goes without saying that freshly picked produce delivered straight to the table is ideal. Yet as our tastes evolve and we become increasingly reliant on internationally imported goods, frozen or canned fruit and veg offer a convenient and affordable alternative. What’s more, fresh fruit and vegetables may not be as nutritionally dense as we’re led to believe.

“Fruit and vegetables begin to ferment from the point that they’re picked until they’re canned, frozen or arrive ‘fresh’ in the supermarket, so it’s very hard to determine the nutrients that are intact,” explains Jodie. “Frozen vegetables lose less nutrients initially, but they can lose more due to oxidation while they’re in the freezer. Canned vegetables may lose more initially, but they are then stabilised because there’s no oxygen in the can.”

Does cooking fruit and vegetables deplete the levels of nutrients?

The level of nutrition depletion when cooking varies between different varieties of fruit and vegetables. For instance, cooking carrots makes the antioxidant beta-carotene more bioavailable, yet heating broccoli damages an important enzyme, which reduces the potency of anti-cancer compounds called glucosinolates. Certain individuals may find raw fruit and vegetables difficult to digest, so should avoid them after 4pm.

However, their high water content can promote a feeling of fullness and assist weight loss. If cooking, Helena recommends avoiding boiling to prevent water soluble B vitamins and vitamin C being lost into the water (known as leaching). “Steaming will help to preserve more of the vitamin content compared to boiling,” she says.

Is gluten harmless unless a person has coeliac disease?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue following gluten consumption, triggering a range of symptoms including diarrhoea, bloating and abdominal pain. For sufferers of coeliac disease, the only treatment is life-long elimination of gluten from their diet.

However, for non-sufferers, avoiding gluten offers little benefit. “We don’t need gluten in our diet,” says Jodie. “You won’t become deficient in anything if you cut it out. However, it’s in so much food, it’s hard to eliminate it from our diet.” Aside from being present in dietary

staples like bread and pasta, it’s also found in soy sauce, stock cubes and salad dressings. What’s more, as well as being more expensive, a gluten-free diet can offer less nutrition. “Lots of gluten-free breads and pastas are lower in fibre and higher in fat to make them more palatable,” explains Jodie. “If you replace glutenous foods with sweet potatoes and oats it may have a positive impact on your health, but is that realistic in the longterm?” Jodie advises eating whole grain foods and bulking out portion sizes with salad and vegetables.

Does eating too close to bedtime lead to weight gain?

After many studies, it appears it’s not so much when we eat, but our total calorie consumption throughout the day that determines our weight. “A lot of people have previously been told to avoid eating late at night, so they have their dinner at 6pm and then become really hungry later in the evening and are reaching for the biscuit tin,” says Jodie.

However, eating high-fat foods before bedtime can cause bloating or gastrointestinal reflux, which disturbs sleep, while a large meal in the evening may also reduce appetite for breakfast. Jodie recommends that people eat healthy meals and snacks that fit in around their lifestyles.

Can supplements replace a healthy, balanced diet?

Many groups of people may benefit from supplementing their diet with tablet or liquid vitamins and minerals. Pregnant women, vegetarians, fussy eaters and people with dietary deficiencies, to name just a few, could all benefit from certain supplements. However, it’s important to inform customers that taking supplements does not replace eating a healthy, balanced diet.

“Multivitamins provide the levels of vitamins and minerals that we require, but that’s not the only reason we should be eating fruit and vegetables,” says Jodie. “The fibre found in fruit and veg cannot be supplemented. If you’re not eating fruit and veg it also means that your plate is more likely to be full of calorie-dense food or less healthy alternatives.” 

“Most people should be able to obtain all the nutrients they need by eating a healthy, balanced diet,” adds Helena.

Are diet drinks a better option than full-sugar varieties?

In an effort to manage their weight or protect their teeth, many people choose diet fizzy drinks over their sugary counterparts. Many diet options contain the artificial sweetener aspartame, which is approximately 400 times sweeter than sugar, so only one calorie’s worth is all that’s usually required to sweeten a can of fizzy drink. However, the jury is out on the health consequences of regular aspartame consumption – it has been linked to multiple sclerosis, cancer, brain tumours and lymphoma.

Despite this, Jodie still advises fizzy drink addicts to opt for diet varieties if looking to reduce their consumption: “Diet drinks are not healthier as they have no beneficial effect on our health. However, they are the better option if people are looking to reduce their sugar intake and wean themselves off sugar slowly, although people shouldn’t become dependent on sweeteners.”

Jodie recommends gradually replacing diet drinks with still or carbonated water. “I advocate having food that’s as close to its natural form as possible, not made in a factory,” she says. “Going from full sugar to water is ideal but unrealistic for many. Go for artificially sweetened drinks and then cut back on those too.”

Do eggs raise blood cholesterol?

Few foods have caused more debate in recent years than eggs. With the salmonella scandal from the late 1980s still in some people’s minds plus the fear of raised cholesterol, many people have avoided eggs or just eat the whites. However, eggs are an inexpensive source of high quality protein, with many experts now recommending one a day.

“It is a myth that eating foods containing cholesterol such as eggs and prawns are to blame for high cholesterol levels in the blood,” says Helena. “Research shows that for most people, it is foods high in saturated fat that can raise blood cholesterol levels.” Egg whites are a rich source of selenium, magnesium, phosphate and folate, while yolks contain vitamins A, D, E and K, as well as carotenoids and essential fatty acids.

For those concerned about safety, advise cooking them thoroughly until the whites and yolk are set. To ensure freshness, place eggs in a bowl of water – fresh eggs will sink; stale eggs will float.

Is it best to eat little and often?

Eating six mini meals throughout the day has been touted as improving everything from energy levels to suppressing appetite. However, there appears to be no strong data to support either this approach or three main meals a day to aid or maintain weight loss. “Studies show that both can be helpful in balancing blood sugar levels, but what’s more important is what’s in the meals rather than the timing,” explains Jodie.

“There’s no right or wrong – if you’re not a snacker, don’t feel like you have to be and if you need to snack between meals then that’s fine.” If weight loss is the aim, reducing overall calorie intake either through reducing meal sizes or frequency, alongside regular exercise, will be effective.